by Taylor Hart
Taylin asked for the time of birth and started the timer for the APGAR. A crying baby was the best sound in the world and Magnolia was doing a fantastic job of it.
Taylin watched Ryan cut his daughter’s cord, a look of wonder on his face. “Oh, Lily, she’s beautiful.” His voice cracked with emotion.
Taylin couldn’t hold back a grin. Magnolia had a cone head and was covered in blood and thick, white vernix. She would look much better after Taylin cleaned her up and the swelling in her head started to go down. Even so, it was cute to know Ryan thought his daughter was beautiful.
The doctor held up the squalling infant for the new mother to see. The labor nurse asked Lily if she wanted the baby skin to skin.
Lily stared at the baby and chewed on her bottom lip. “Is it okay if y’all clean her up first?”
“Sure,” the doctor said. “The nurse will take care of her while we finish up here.” He turned and handed the baby to Taylin.
Laying the baby on the warmer, Taylin noted her color and muscle tone. There was no doubt about her respiratory effort as Magnolia screamed at the injustice of it all.
Taking her stethoscope, Taylin plugged the tips into her ears and listened to the baby’s heart. With her other hand, she and the OB tech scrubbed the blood and vernix with a towel, drying the baby off.
Ryan moved next to the warmer and stared down at his baby. “Is she okay?” he asked tentatively.
The baby continued to wail, her little arms and legs flailing in protest. She left her mother’s warm womb and now lay under a bright light with people scrubbing at her never-before-touched skin.
Taylin met his gaze and smiled. “She’s perfect. Congratulations, Ryan.”
“Thanks.” Tears pooled in his eyes. “And thank you for doing this. I wasn’t—”
For a second there, Taylin was afraid he was going to say something about their previous relationship. The staff knew they’d gone to school together, Taylin just chose not to reveal how close their connection had been.
“I’m so glad you were the nurse. I completely trust you with my daughter.”
Taylin had never seen this side to Ryan. Marriage, and now fatherhood, seemed to have changed him for the better.
“Thank you. Let me get her weight and length and then you can take Magnolia to meet her mama.”
Taylin worked quickly to clean up the healthy baby girl. After she weighed and measured her, she diapered her and placed a pink and blue knit hat on the baby’s head. Magnolia quieted down when Taylin swaddled her in warm, clean blankets.
Picking up the infant, Taylin held her out to Ryan. He hesitated for a second and looked a little unsure of himself. “Just hold out your arms,” she said in a soft voice.
He stretched out his hands and Taylin laid the baby in his arms. “There you go. Make sure to support her head.”
Ryan’s eyes filled up with tears again as he gazed down at his daughter. Taylin reached over and cupped her hand around the baby’s face, shielding her from the bright lights. Magnolia blinked and opened her tiny eyes, staring back at her father.
Taylin had to fight back the emotion swelling in her throat, confused by the tiny spark of envy tightening her chest. It was stupid to feel this way. Sure, being a wife and mother was something she had always dreamed about as a little girl, but she was still young and had plenty of time to find the right guy. Besides that, she’d recently sent in an application for the Vital First Breath program, which would give her the opportunity to travel abroad to teach lifesaving skills for the newborn to areas where there are little or no medical facilities.
Slowly, Ryan turned and walked toward his wife. “Magnolia, I want you to meet the most beautiful woman in the world—your mother.”
Moisture blurred Taylin’s vision as Ryan settled the baby in Lily’s arms. He leaned over and gave his wife a sweet kiss on the mouth. “You did it, honey. You were amazing.”
Ryan’s parents rushed through the door, along with Ryan’s brother and wife. Their excited chatter over the newest member of the family filled the room. Taylin felt out of place and knew it was time to leave.
She grabbed the tube of cord blood and placed it in a biohazard bag for the lab. She asked the OB tech to get the next set of vital signs on the newborn baby and to call when the mother was ready to feed the baby.
More tears gathered in her eyes as she exited the room. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was crying. It wasn’t because she was still in love with Ryan. She wasn’t. She truly was happy for him.
Maybe it was just the fact that she feared she would never find the right man to marry. If that man even existed. Her current boyfriend certainly wasn’t husband material. Sure, he had a great job and recently purchased a condo. But the guy was a total slob and was obsessed with Xbox. Taylin was tired of going to his house only to spend the first hour cleaning it. Come to think of it, the sole reason Jared might still be dating her was for her cleaning services.
The thought depressed her even more. Another tear trickled down her face and she sniffed, wishing she had a tissue to wipe her nose. She needed to get back inside the nursery where she could collect herself. Rushing past the nurses’ station, she kept her chin down and headed for the nursery. She didn’t want anyone to question her emotional display.
Suddenly a body appeared out of another door. Before she could stop, she smacked into a solid chest. Warm hands grasped her shoulders in an attempt to keep her from falling on her backside. Taylin sucked in a startled breath and caught the faint scent of masculine, spicy aftershave. Whoever this was smelled yummy.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She backed up, making the warm hands drop from her shoulders. Her eyes slowly scanned up light blue scrubs, over a pair of incredible biceps, across a square jaw covered with a dark five o’clock shadow, past tightly pressed lips and into stormy gray eyes filled with annoyance.
She blinked and a couple of tears escaped, sliding down her cheeks. The annoyance in the man’s eyes changed to concern. “Did I hurt you?”
Taylin didn’t know who he was, but he definitely wasn’t from Georgia. He sounded just like her sister-in-law, Addie, who was from Idaho.
Embarrassed, she shook her head. “No, just the miracle of a baby’s birth.” She wiped away a tear. “It gets me every time.”
Those unbelievable gray eyes of his softened, and a thoughtful smile parted his lips. “Yeah, I guess it is pretty amazing.”
Amazing was what happened to her heart when he smiled. Who is he?
She had every intention of finding out.
Hoping her makeup really was waterproof and she didn’t have mascara streaking down her cheeks, Taylin’s mouth curved up into a flirty smile.
Before she could say anything, the alarm of an IV pump sounded from the room he’d just exited. Another L&D nurse came out the door. “Luke, that’s yours.” Then she paused and gave Taylin and Luke a questioning look.
Taylin knew why. She had just run into Luke McKay, the brand new nurse anesthetist all the women were talking about. The new guy had started work a few weeks earlier, but for some reason she’d never worked the same shift as he did, and then she’d gone on her vacation. He was rumored to be a dark-haired, gorgeous, brooding male who only smiled and joked with either his patients, anyone who was a man, or women over the age of fifty. The rest of the staff—who did not fit into this demographic—he basically ignored.
Lifting her eyes, Taylin looked up at the man who towered at least a foot over her petite five-three frame and swallowed. He was gorgeous—and no longer smiling—hence the “brooding male” title. Still, he had talked to her, so maybe… she squelched the idea when her gaze met his cool gray eyes, the warmth no longer visible.
Luke’s mouth returned to its grim state as he took a step away and nodded his head at the nurse. “Thanks. I’ll check it out.”
Without glancing at Taylin again, he pivoted and entered the room. She flinched as the door shut in her face and was annoyed how her stomach tumbled at the
lingering scent of his cologne.
She stared at the door, tempted to follow him into the room. The man needed a lesson in Southern manners from her mama—or maybe her daddy.
“Don’t feel bad,” the nurse said with a laugh. “I reckon he’s just shy.”
Taylin held back an eye roll. “I’m sure that’s it.” She waved goodbye and marched toward the nursery.
New Guy wasn’t that hot. Sure, his eyes were gorgeous. And boy did he fill out his scrubs nicely. But Taylin wasn’t really into surly males. She liked men who were…happy.
Taking a seat at her workstation, she noticed a flyer on top of her clipboard. The picture on the notice made her heart flutter like she was in V-fib.
Say hello to Luke McKay, Mitchel Creek’s newest CRNA, Friday, September 23, from seven until eight-thirty in the dining room.
A yellow sticky was stuck on the bottom of the paper. It was a note to Taylin from her manager, Margaret.
Taylin, thank you for agreeing to help me out with the employee bulletin board. I’d like to feature Luke as the newest member of our team. I’ve attached a list of suggested questions you can use to interview him, or you can come up with some of your own. It would be nice if you could get it done before the open house.
Great. Just before leaving for Hawaii, Margaret had cornered Taylin and asked her to take charge of a bulletin board, which would feature the employees on the women’s floor to help promote camaraderie between the staff members. Since Taylin wanted to transfer from well-baby nursery into the newborn intensive care unit, she hadn’t dared to say no. Plus, Margaret was very supportive of Taylin’s desire to go abroad for a year with the Vital First Breath program. She’d promised Taylin her full support if she got accepted.
Taylin read through some of the questions and sighed. Where on earth had her manager gotten these questions? She did not want to ask a good-looking, grumpy man if he could be any fictional character who would he choose, or what super power would he like to have? Whatever happened to simple questions like where did you grow up or what is your favorite food?
Knowing she needed to focus on her charting before she was called in for another delivery, she turned the flyer over and picked up her paperwork on Ryan’s baby girl. Interviewing Luke McKay would have to wait for another day.
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About the Author
Taylor Hart has always been drawn to a good love triangle, hot chocolate and long conversations with new friends. Writing has always been a passion that has consumed her dreams and forced her to sit in a trance for long hours, completely obsessed with people that don’t really exist. Taylor would have been a country star if she could have carried a tune—maybe in the next life. Find Taylor at:
www.taylorhartbooks.com │ Twitter: @taylorfaithhart │ Facebook: Taylor Hart
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